A new video from Celeste (Gold Star Mom) and Dante Zappala about the war. This is their response to Freedom Watch and their ads on TV. We don't have $15 million to get our message out on the airwaves, but we sure can do it another way!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSWzoGGmpqQ
Please share far and wide, with your family, friends and neighbors.
Peace,
Amy
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Grand Disillusion
A few thoughts for the day...
Ever wonder why it is that those politicians who most vehemently oppose gay rights are the ones being arrested and/or caught in the act doing something that is most definitely gay? It's not just politicians, either. Look at how many Christian religious leaders this has happened to as well. Can you say hypocrisy? I simply can't imagine living my life in such a way that I would be so full of hatred for those who openly practice who they are, yet live a totally different life in private. Get a clue, people. If you live the life and be the person that you truly are, openly and honestly, you will be much happier.
All of my life I thought there was something I could depend on -- if I were in a really bad financial situation that I would be able to get the help I needed (short term) whether it was food stamps, help to pay my rent or some kind of health care until I could get back up on my feet again. But this is not so. In the past, say 20 years ago, yeah. But not now. This is a very sad testament to the state of our country and those who say they are pro life, empathetic and caring. Yet they will let the poor become poorer and not give them a chance while the rich are getting richer by the minute. What's wrong with this picture? Sometimes people really DO need help and they are willing to do what it takes to help themselves. They just need some sort of small break to get out of the hole they are in.
I find it very interesting that more people in this country are concerned about how much money the war in Iraq is costing them... Yet they don't really care very much for the human cost. A soldier dies? Well, that is the cost of war. It's going to cost me and my children money for the next 100 years? STOP THE WAR! Amazing.
I used to vote Republican. Hell, I used to be Republican and very conservative. Then I started looking to the Democrats and voting Democratic. For the past few years, though, I can't stand any of them. There are a few that I can support, but I don't think that the vast majority of our country's politicians care much about the people whom they profess to serve. They are much more interested in the money they can get for their next election campaign from special interest groups, lobbyists and the ultra-rich.
Last week I watched a series on CNN called "God's Warriors". They took three evenings and talked about the three main religions of the world, Islam, the Jewish faith and Christianity. Wanna know what really bothers me? That these three religions of the world insist they have the one and only "right" and "true" religion and the zealots in each of them insist that the whole world must confirm to their ways or we should all die. There simply is no room for compromise. What about those of us who practice something other than one of these religions? How come these people get to make our decisions for us? Where are all of the people who do not belong to one of these religions and why are we not all in an uproar about all of this? People, if we do not find our voices and speak up, these others are going to destroy our planet and the people on it.
I dunno, maybe we'd all be better off if we let them. Then we can start over (maybe).
Just my thoughts, for what they're worth.
Peace,
Amy
Ever wonder why it is that those politicians who most vehemently oppose gay rights are the ones being arrested and/or caught in the act doing something that is most definitely gay? It's not just politicians, either. Look at how many Christian religious leaders this has happened to as well. Can you say hypocrisy? I simply can't imagine living my life in such a way that I would be so full of hatred for those who openly practice who they are, yet live a totally different life in private. Get a clue, people. If you live the life and be the person that you truly are, openly and honestly, you will be much happier.
All of my life I thought there was something I could depend on -- if I were in a really bad financial situation that I would be able to get the help I needed (short term) whether it was food stamps, help to pay my rent or some kind of health care until I could get back up on my feet again. But this is not so. In the past, say 20 years ago, yeah. But not now. This is a very sad testament to the state of our country and those who say they are pro life, empathetic and caring. Yet they will let the poor become poorer and not give them a chance while the rich are getting richer by the minute. What's wrong with this picture? Sometimes people really DO need help and they are willing to do what it takes to help themselves. They just need some sort of small break to get out of the hole they are in.
I find it very interesting that more people in this country are concerned about how much money the war in Iraq is costing them... Yet they don't really care very much for the human cost. A soldier dies? Well, that is the cost of war. It's going to cost me and my children money for the next 100 years? STOP THE WAR! Amazing.
I used to vote Republican. Hell, I used to be Republican and very conservative. Then I started looking to the Democrats and voting Democratic. For the past few years, though, I can't stand any of them. There are a few that I can support, but I don't think that the vast majority of our country's politicians care much about the people whom they profess to serve. They are much more interested in the money they can get for their next election campaign from special interest groups, lobbyists and the ultra-rich.
Last week I watched a series on CNN called "God's Warriors". They took three evenings and talked about the three main religions of the world, Islam, the Jewish faith and Christianity. Wanna know what really bothers me? That these three religions of the world insist they have the one and only "right" and "true" religion and the zealots in each of them insist that the whole world must confirm to their ways or we should all die. There simply is no room for compromise. What about those of us who practice something other than one of these religions? How come these people get to make our decisions for us? Where are all of the people who do not belong to one of these religions and why are we not all in an uproar about all of this? People, if we do not find our voices and speak up, these others are going to destroy our planet and the people on it.
I dunno, maybe we'd all be better off if we let them. Then we can start over (maybe).
Just my thoughts, for what they're worth.
Peace,
Amy
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Grapes of Wrath Return
By Brent Budowsky
The Hill
Monday 20 August 2007
Here is the problem with the Federal Reserve bailout of banks, rather than providing support to homeowners, citizens or the economy as a whole:
Check out the New York Times Aug. 20 story about how those who had their homes foreclosed on by banks often get huge tax bills from the IRS, while the banks buy the home back, at times for $1.
Understand that contrary to much of the snide, condescending coverage in some of the media, many who are foreclosed upon had good-paying jobs that were cut back, laid off, or outsourced, and others had good-paying jobs but suffered major health problems, with ripoff costs imposed by an unjust healthcare system.
In the real world, here is how it can work:
A person takes out a $100,000 mortgage and has a $65,000 salaried job. That person gets his or her hours cut back, or wealthy executives downsize the company while they keep their large salaries and stock options, or ther job is lost by outsourcing to a country that pays slave wages with no benefits. Or the person suffers a health problem and incurs huge costs, which benefit wealthy healthcare companies, while consumers fight wealthy insurance companies and of course well-paid doctors.
Assume that person had made five payments before the crisis that was beyond their control. When they are foreclosed on by the bank, they have lost all of their payments, gone forever, lost their home, forever, and then could be hit with a $30,000 IRS bill for the honor. The Fed's lowering of the discount rate last week did little to nothing for these people.
The bank then gets the foreclosed house, and can often buy the home back for virtually nothing if there are no bidders, and in the medium to long term will be able to sell the house for a slight loss, or a minor profit, or a huge profit if it has the capacity to wait. The Fed's lowering of the discount rate helps these companies.
I predict that very few banks will use last week's discount rate to help average folks. They will either use it to finance mortgages of very high-income homebuyers purchasing top-of-the-line homes at a discount in the current market, or they will use it to buy time, until they finally sell the foreclosed home at a profit.
In effect John and Jane Doe get screwed at each step along the way, from outsourced jobs, eliminated jobs, cost-cut jobs, costs from the ripoff medical system, and foreclosure - where they lose whatever payments they made as well as their homes, and then get a huge tax hit.
Meanwhile, the prime beneficiaries of the Fed action are those who did the foreclosing and the banks, hedge funds and private equity funds who maneuver these assets back and forth between themselves, with fleets of lawyers and accountants helping them minimize costs and maximize ultimate profits with bridge money from the Federal Reserve (ultimately, American people's money).
The Fed should have lowered the federal funds rate. Then the prime rate should be lowered, which would help all Americans and strengthen the national economy, stabilizing consumer finance and the housing market in the medium and long term.
It is true that credit has been overextended in some cases and in some cases foreclosure was inevitable. However, what the media fails to report is the very large number of cases in which hard-working, law-abiding, honorable Americans were screwed in their jobs, screwed in their healthcare, then screwed by those who foreclosed rather than giving them more time, then screwed by the IRS, then screwed by the Fed that takes the money of the American people to help those who did wrong, without helping those who deserve more time.
It is time for a freeze on foreclosures for this group, and time to establish guarantees that these banks, hedge funds and private equity funds agree to equitable treatment for average Americans as a condition for getting benefits from government policies.
Many of these hedge funds and private equity funds are untaxed. How about taxing them a little, instead of taxing foreclosed-upon Americans? How about ending the new "Grapes of Wrath"?
The Hill
Monday 20 August 2007
Here is the problem with the Federal Reserve bailout of banks, rather than providing support to homeowners, citizens or the economy as a whole:
Check out the New York Times Aug. 20 story about how those who had their homes foreclosed on by banks often get huge tax bills from the IRS, while the banks buy the home back, at times for $1.
Understand that contrary to much of the snide, condescending coverage in some of the media, many who are foreclosed upon had good-paying jobs that were cut back, laid off, or outsourced, and others had good-paying jobs but suffered major health problems, with ripoff costs imposed by an unjust healthcare system.
In the real world, here is how it can work:
A person takes out a $100,000 mortgage and has a $65,000 salaried job. That person gets his or her hours cut back, or wealthy executives downsize the company while they keep their large salaries and stock options, or ther job is lost by outsourcing to a country that pays slave wages with no benefits. Or the person suffers a health problem and incurs huge costs, which benefit wealthy healthcare companies, while consumers fight wealthy insurance companies and of course well-paid doctors.
Assume that person had made five payments before the crisis that was beyond their control. When they are foreclosed on by the bank, they have lost all of their payments, gone forever, lost their home, forever, and then could be hit with a $30,000 IRS bill for the honor. The Fed's lowering of the discount rate last week did little to nothing for these people.
The bank then gets the foreclosed house, and can often buy the home back for virtually nothing if there are no bidders, and in the medium to long term will be able to sell the house for a slight loss, or a minor profit, or a huge profit if it has the capacity to wait. The Fed's lowering of the discount rate helps these companies.
I predict that very few banks will use last week's discount rate to help average folks. They will either use it to finance mortgages of very high-income homebuyers purchasing top-of-the-line homes at a discount in the current market, or they will use it to buy time, until they finally sell the foreclosed home at a profit.
In effect John and Jane Doe get screwed at each step along the way, from outsourced jobs, eliminated jobs, cost-cut jobs, costs from the ripoff medical system, and foreclosure - where they lose whatever payments they made as well as their homes, and then get a huge tax hit.
Meanwhile, the prime beneficiaries of the Fed action are those who did the foreclosing and the banks, hedge funds and private equity funds who maneuver these assets back and forth between themselves, with fleets of lawyers and accountants helping them minimize costs and maximize ultimate profits with bridge money from the Federal Reserve (ultimately, American people's money).
The Fed should have lowered the federal funds rate. Then the prime rate should be lowered, which would help all Americans and strengthen the national economy, stabilizing consumer finance and the housing market in the medium and long term.
It is true that credit has been overextended in some cases and in some cases foreclosure was inevitable. However, what the media fails to report is the very large number of cases in which hard-working, law-abiding, honorable Americans were screwed in their jobs, screwed in their healthcare, then screwed by those who foreclosed rather than giving them more time, then screwed by the IRS, then screwed by the Fed that takes the money of the American people to help those who did wrong, without helping those who deserve more time.
It is time for a freeze on foreclosures for this group, and time to establish guarantees that these banks, hedge funds and private equity funds agree to equitable treatment for average Americans as a condition for getting benefits from government policies.
Many of these hedge funds and private equity funds are untaxed. How about taxing them a little, instead of taxing foreclosed-upon Americans? How about ending the new "Grapes of Wrath"?
Thursday, August 16, 2007
It's that time of year again, folks!
Attention everyone with high school aged children or grandchildren.
From Yvett Coil:
Today was High School registration for my daughter who is now in the 10th grade. I register my son next week, he's in the 11th grade. Once again I'm reminded that I have to fill out an opt-out form, each year I have to submit a new one. Many of the people in her school didn't know what the opt-out form was and I find it scary to think that they are OK with recruiters contacting the children in this High School. I offered to print several copies on my own dime for them to hand out but they said that it wasn't necessary. They went on to say that when asked they'll just have their parents sign a letter stating they didn't want their child contacted and keep the letter in a safe place. Not good enough for me, and maybe you should think about it also if you have a High School aged child. We turned in a copy to the school, the superintendent and kept a copy for our own records.
With registration going on nation-wide, if you have a child or know of someone with a High School aged child I implore you to sign the form on the links below and turn it into your child's school no later than the first week of school. Some schools state that if it's not turned in within that time then they have no power over whether or not the recuriters contact your child. I think that's a lie since I once worked for a school district and know that is simply untrue. However, those who are for sending our kids to war will say what they want without accountability, and they are expecting us to follow like sheep. Please err on the side of caution and turn it in before the first week of school is over.
What is an opt-out form you ask? It is a form that you must sign and give to your student's school so that the recruiters cannot contact your child, take your child off of school grounds and convince your child to join the military (this form is for High School students but you can sign one for your middle school student too just to be sure). You can find the form and an explanation at http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/militarism-in-schools/default.htm. The English version http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/militarism-in-schools/opt-out.rtf and Spanish version http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/militarism-in-schools/optar-fuera.rtf .
According to the AFSC website: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 contains a provision that forces secondary schools to turn over students' name, address and telephone number to military recruiters upon demand. Parents and students have a right to "opt-out".
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, Section 9528 requires that all secondary schools release contact information about students to military recruiters upon request.
The same section specifies that parents may "request that the student's name, address, and telephone listing. not be released without prior written parental consent, and the local educational agency or private school shall notify parents of the option to make a request and shall comply with any request."
When schools inform students of their right, they are complying with the stated requirements of No Child Left Behind. This helps them maintain eligibility for federal funding.
The law states that a parent or a student may request that their contact information be withheld from recruiters.
This is about protecting student's right to safety. In 2004 there were 320 counts of recruiting violations reported including:
Sexual assault
Arrest threats
Forgery of documents
Cheating on entrance exams
Doctoring drug tests
This is about students' right to choice about their future. A student cannot make a fair choice about his or her future when we allow recruiters into students' homes while they spout off myths like:
Myth: You are guaranteed $70,000 for college
Reality: Only 43% of those who enlist in the Montgomery GI bill will ever see a penny for college, and all must pay in $1200 that they will never see again
Myth: You can try out the military for a few months and quit if you do not like it:
Reality: Once you state the oath at the beginning of basic training, you are there until your contract runs out. or longer. Moreover, Section C9c the military enlistment contract states that: "In the event of war, my enlistment in the Armed Forces continues until six (6) months after the war ends, unless my enlistment is ended sooner by the President of the United States."
Myth: A recruit is guaranteed any promise made by a recruiter
Reality: The military enlistment agreement states that: " Laws and regulations that govern military personnel may change without notice to me. Such changes may affect my status, pay, allowances, benefits, and responsibilities as a member of the Armed Forces regardless of the provisions of this enlistment/reenlistment document."
Myth: The military will leave you better prepared for a career upon exiting the service
Reality: Less than 12% of veterans surveyed claimed that they used any of the skills learned in the military in their civilian jobs
And if any of your children are in the Delayed Enlistment Program and want out, and have not yet gone to boot camp, please contact us. We can help him/her get out before they go in.
We have to protect our children from these predators who promise a lie they cannot deliver. Our children are counting on us to protect them too.
Pass them out far and wide to as many High Schoolers as you can.
Peace always,
Yvette and Tim Coil
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
If These Boots Could Talk
by Connie Greene
If these boots could talk
What would they say?
Would they tell us how he felt that day?
Did he laugh or smile and not know his fate?
Would they tell us why he died that way?
Would they tell us that he didn’t know his last breath was that?
Did he have any last words to say?
If these boots could talk…..
Maybe they would say……
That he walked lightly that day
And wanted to keep from harms way
That he thought of his family and smiled
That he dreamed of going home, kissing his wife
And holding his daughter
Hugging his mom and his father
Loving his family and holding tight
If these boots could talk……
Maybe they would say….
He looked forward to the day when this war
Was only war stories for him
Stories to share with his brothers and nephews
Instead he is a war hero
With too many untold stories
Too many dreams undone
Why did my parents have to bury their son?
If these boots could talk…..
Maybe all they could say
Is that his body was light as his soul lifted away
Connie Greene
Member of Gold Star Families Speak Out
Sister of SSG Jamie Huggins KIA 10/26/2003
St. Louis, MO
Email: greenecj@slu.edu
If these boots could talk
What would they say?
Would they tell us how he felt that day?
Did he laugh or smile and not know his fate?
Would they tell us why he died that way?
Would they tell us that he didn’t know his last breath was that?
Did he have any last words to say?
If these boots could talk…..
Maybe they would say……
That he walked lightly that day
And wanted to keep from harms way
That he thought of his family and smiled
That he dreamed of going home, kissing his wife
And holding his daughter
Hugging his mom and his father
Loving his family and holding tight
If these boots could talk……
Maybe they would say….
He looked forward to the day when this war
Was only war stories for him
Stories to share with his brothers and nephews
Instead he is a war hero
With too many untold stories
Too many dreams undone
Why did my parents have to bury their son?
If these boots could talk…..
Maybe all they could say
Is that his body was light as his soul lifted away
Connie Greene
Member of Gold Star Families Speak Out
Sister of SSG Jamie Huggins KIA 10/26/2003
St. Louis, MO
Email: greenecj@slu.edu
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Comptroller General of the US: Learn from the Fall of Rome
Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned
By Jeremy Grant in Washington, Financial Times
The US government is on a ‘burning platform’ of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country’s top government inspector has warned.
David Walker, comptroller general of the US, issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his country’s future in a report that lays out what he called “chilling long-term simulations”.
These include “dramatic” tax rises, slashed government services and the large-scale dumping by foreign governments of holdings of US debt.
Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were “striking similarities” between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government”.
“Sound familiar?” Mr Walker said. “In my view, it’s time to learn from history and take steps to ensure the American Republic is the first to stand the test of time.”
Mr Walker’s views carry weight because he is a non-partisan figure in charge of the Government Accountability Office, often described as the investigative arm of the US Congress.
While most of its studies are commissioned by legislators, about 10 per cent – such as the one containing his latest warnings – are initiated by the comptroller general himself.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Walker said he had mentioned some of the issues before but now wanted to “turn up the volume”. Some of them were too sensitive for others in government to “have their name associated with”.
“I’m trying to sound an alarm and issue a wake-up call,” he said. “As comptroller general I’ve got an ability to look longer-range and take on issues that others may be hesitant, and in many cases may not be in a position, to take on.
“One of the concerns is obviously we are a great country but we face major sustainability challenges that we are not taking seriously enough,” said Mr Walker, who was appointed during the Clinton administration to the post, which carries a 15-year term.
The fiscal imbalance meant the US was “on a path toward an explosion of debt”.
“With the looming retirement of baby boomers, spiralling healthcare costs, plummeting savings rates and increasing reliance on foreign lenders, we face unprecedented fiscal risks,” said Mr Walker, a former senior executive at PwC auditing firm.
Current US policy on education, energy, the environment, immigration and Iraq also was on an “unsustainable path”.
“Our very prosperity is placing greater demands on our physical infrastructure. Billions of dollars will be needed to modernise everything from highways and airports to water and sewage systems. The recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis was a sobering wake-up call.”
Mr Walker said he would offer to brief the would-be presidential candidates next spring.
“They need to make fiscal responsibility and inter-generational equity one of their top priorities. If they do, I think we have a chance to turn this around but if they don’t, I think the risk of a serious crisis rises considerably”.
By Jeremy Grant in Washington, Financial Times
The US government is on a ‘burning platform’ of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country’s top government inspector has warned.
David Walker, comptroller general of the US, issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his country’s future in a report that lays out what he called “chilling long-term simulations”.
These include “dramatic” tax rises, slashed government services and the large-scale dumping by foreign governments of holdings of US debt.
Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were “striking similarities” between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government”.
“Sound familiar?” Mr Walker said. “In my view, it’s time to learn from history and take steps to ensure the American Republic is the first to stand the test of time.”
Mr Walker’s views carry weight because he is a non-partisan figure in charge of the Government Accountability Office, often described as the investigative arm of the US Congress.
While most of its studies are commissioned by legislators, about 10 per cent – such as the one containing his latest warnings – are initiated by the comptroller general himself.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Walker said he had mentioned some of the issues before but now wanted to “turn up the volume”. Some of them were too sensitive for others in government to “have their name associated with”.
“I’m trying to sound an alarm and issue a wake-up call,” he said. “As comptroller general I’ve got an ability to look longer-range and take on issues that others may be hesitant, and in many cases may not be in a position, to take on.
“One of the concerns is obviously we are a great country but we face major sustainability challenges that we are not taking seriously enough,” said Mr Walker, who was appointed during the Clinton administration to the post, which carries a 15-year term.
The fiscal imbalance meant the US was “on a path toward an explosion of debt”.
“With the looming retirement of baby boomers, spiralling healthcare costs, plummeting savings rates and increasing reliance on foreign lenders, we face unprecedented fiscal risks,” said Mr Walker, a former senior executive at PwC auditing firm.
Current US policy on education, energy, the environment, immigration and Iraq also was on an “unsustainable path”.
“Our very prosperity is placing greater demands on our physical infrastructure. Billions of dollars will be needed to modernise everything from highways and airports to water and sewage systems. The recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis was a sobering wake-up call.”
Mr Walker said he would offer to brief the would-be presidential candidates next spring.
“They need to make fiscal responsibility and inter-generational equity one of their top priorities. If they do, I think we have a chance to turn this around but if they don’t, I think the risk of a serious crisis rises considerably”.
Karl Rove Resigns
Okay, so Karl Rove is resigning his position at the White House at the end of this month. Woohoo! I'm glad to see him go.
But... I seriously doubt that there is not another plan going on behind the scenes that we know nothing about right now. Rove is not content and has never been content to sit behind the scenes and do nothing. There is something else going on.
Beware, America. Rove may be leaving the White House, but he will still be meddling.
But... I seriously doubt that there is not another plan going on behind the scenes that we know nothing about right now. Rove is not content and has never been content to sit behind the scenes and do nothing. There is something else going on.
Beware, America. Rove may be leaving the White House, but he will still be meddling.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Bush War Advisor Says Draft Worth a Look
The Associated Press
Friday 10 August 2007
Washington - Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush's new war adviser said Friday.
"I think it makes sense to certainly consider it," Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."
"And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another," Lute added in his first interview since he was confirmed by the Senate in June.
President Nixon abolished the draft in 1973. Restoring it, Lute said, would be a "major policy shift" and Bush has made it clear that he doesn't think it's necessary.
"The president's position is that the all volunteer military meets the needs of the country and there is no discussion of a draft. General Lute made that point as well," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
In the interview, Lute also said that "Today, the current means of the all-volunteer force is serving us exceptionally well."
Still, he said the repeated deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan affect not only the troops but their families, who can influence whether a service member decides to stay in the military.
"There's both a personal dimension of this, where this kind of stress plays out across dinner tables and in living room conversations within these families," he said. "And ultimately, the health of the all-volunteer force is going to rest on those sorts of personal family decisions."
The military conducted a draft during the Civil War and both world wars and between 1948 and 1973. The Selective Service System, re- established in 1980, maintains a registry of 18-year-old men.
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has called for reinstating the draft as a way to end the Iraq war.
Bush picked Lute in mid-May as a deputy national security adviser with responsibility for ensuring efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan are coordinated with policymakers in Washington. Lute, an active-duty general, was chosen after several retired generals turned down the job.
Friday 10 August 2007
Washington - Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush's new war adviser said Friday.
"I think it makes sense to certainly consider it," Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."
"And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another," Lute added in his first interview since he was confirmed by the Senate in June.
President Nixon abolished the draft in 1973. Restoring it, Lute said, would be a "major policy shift" and Bush has made it clear that he doesn't think it's necessary.
"The president's position is that the all volunteer military meets the needs of the country and there is no discussion of a draft. General Lute made that point as well," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
In the interview, Lute also said that "Today, the current means of the all-volunteer force is serving us exceptionally well."
Still, he said the repeated deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan affect not only the troops but their families, who can influence whether a service member decides to stay in the military.
"There's both a personal dimension of this, where this kind of stress plays out across dinner tables and in living room conversations within these families," he said. "And ultimately, the health of the all-volunteer force is going to rest on those sorts of personal family decisions."
The military conducted a draft during the Civil War and both world wars and between 1948 and 1973. The Selective Service System, re- established in 1980, maintains a registry of 18-year-old men.
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has called for reinstating the draft as a way to end the Iraq war.
Bush picked Lute in mid-May as a deputy national security adviser with responsibility for ensuring efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan are coordinated with policymakers in Washington. Lute, an active-duty general, was chosen after several retired generals turned down the job.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
New Orleans
Today I am posting a couple of pieces written by a young man I met two years ago on the side of the road on a hot August day in Crawford, Texas. Charlie Anderson. He had driven from the Dallas area and arrived early in the morning along with a friend with coffee and food for those of us who had spent the night in the ditch. Charlie is an Iraq war vet who has done what he can to make a difference. I remember sitting in my car with Charlie, listening to him tell his story of the war, of PTSD, the end of his marriage and how much he missed his little girl... He was the first of many to tell me his story. Hey, Charlie! I'm proud of you!
You can find the originals at www.truthout.org
Amy
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Dispatches from The Other America by Charles E. Anderson
Written for TruthOut.org
Part I
The French Quarter bustles with hundreds of tanned tourists clad in Bermuda shorts, flip-flops and T-shirts bearing pithy slogans. They crowd in around tour guides who tell tall tales of the distant past - tales of Voodoo queens and illicit madams, stories of hard lives and cruel deaths. They rush to get on buses to tour the grand mansions and manicured lawns the of famed Garden District of New Orleans. They drink strong coffee and eat beignets at the Café Dumond; dine in the French Quarter's famous five-star restaurants and drink at the many bars along Bourbon Street. Greenbacks flow from worn leather wallets into the cash registers of the tourist district, seemingly faster than the mind can conceive. Farther downtown, a gas station turns a brisk business selling gasoline, snacks and cold drinks to hundreds of residents and visitors alike. Traffic is heavy on this thoroughfare that dissects one of the city's poorest neighborhoods, the 9th Ward. The sidewalks here are full with foot traffic. Residents go about their daily tasks of gutting homes and businesses, seeming to continue with their lives. Taking this in, it is almost easy for me to believe what I have been told: New Orleans is recovering well from Hurricane Katrina, and the city is on the road to recovery. But, this is New Orleans and the Crescent City is known for its facades.
It takes only two left turns off the major travel routes to discover the New Orleans I had hoped did not exist. It is the New Orleans the state and city governments do not want you to see. Houses lifted from their foundations by the floodwaters that inundated the city two years ago still sit as dilapidated piles of rubble; occasional FEMA trailers dot an otherwise barren landscape devoid of functioning businesses or inhabitable homes. The stench of mildew, mold and rotting garbage permeates the area. This view of "the other New Orleans" is haunting, like a graveyard of the living. Schools, once filled with the jubilant voices of youth, now sit silent and empty as though bearing silent witness to innocence lost; churches sit boarded and vacant, seeming to proclaim, "God doesn't live here anymore," and dozens of corner stores, bars and barber shops sit dormant, as if waiting for their hard-working owners to return and pick up where they left off August 28, 2005: the day before the storm. Yet, this empty view of the city is no more accurate than the image so carefully constructed by the city's Visitor's Bureau. The truth about New Orleans is somewhere between the cleaned-up, shiny image of the uptown districts and the nearly ghost town aura of the 9th Ward.
Somewhere in this haunted ghost town, I discovered a resilience of the human spirit I have never seen before. Signs proclaiming, "I'm coming home; I will rebuild; I am New Orleans" can be seen hanging in front windows and posted in the front yards of the iconic Louisiana shotgun-style houses. Lifelong residents struggle to gut their family homes, often without help. A new generation of New Orleanians, proud of their heritage, work long hours during the week only to work longer hours repairing their damaged homes on weekends. Children still play here and adults still congregate together on their front porches to talk about the hard times and to hope for a better future. Hundreds of caring souls from around the country work tirelessly to do what they can to help people they have never met. The story of this working-class district seems to cry out from its dilapidated buildings and vacant persona. Local residents yearn to tell their story and freely talk about the ordeal they have endured for the past two years as they suffered in silence.
Before I arrived in Louisiana, I had prepared myself to witness the destruction wrought by the hurricane, as well as the waste wrought by inept government. I was not, however, prepared to witness the abject suffering of the hurricane victims, nor was I prepared to experience the strength of faith and the resolve of character so steadfastly personified by these survivors. I had the pleasure of meeting elderly residents of the 9th Ward, many of whom have been working on their homes with no assistance; I met volunteers, motivated only by the desire to relieve human suffering, whose work has aided many, and I met a community "at the bottom of the world" in southern Louisiana where the locals are determined to rebuild their community. My eight days in Louisiana provided me with a view of the "other America" where resources are scarce; faith and will power are essential for survival, and in fact prove to be the heart of our national identity.
It's a story of incredible suffering, amazing faith and strong characters. It is the story of hurricane survivors, not hurricane victims. It is a story of a culture that is clinging to survival in the wake of powerful hurricanes and feeble governments. It is a story of the best, and the worst, of the American spirit.
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Struggling for Resources: Life in the 9th Ward by Charles E. Anderson
Written for TruthOut.org
Part II
Robert Jackson's house looks like a skeleton. Yellow joists stand out like pale exposed ribs against a background of his neighbor's dingy white and grey house. "I want you to move here," the 34-year-old general contractor says with a lopsided grin. "New Orleans is a great place to live!"
Jackson is one of the many younger New Orleanians who are determined to come back home. He works long hours remodeling homes for other New Orleanians during the week, and on weekends he restores his own home.
Jackson's story is familiar, if not typical. His family did not have flood insurance, so he had to save the money to rebuild. As he worked to get his family back into their home, a task he hopes to achieve soon, they lived in a FEMA trailer too small for the family's needs. Jackson is not merely rebuilding his own home, but his parents' home as well.
A half block away, Christine Green sits on the front porch of her hot pink house, chatting with her neighbor Patrick Price. Green is almost finished restoring her home. The wiring is fixed, drywall hung and windows replaced. All that remains is to install new flooring and hang new cabinets. But Green's insurance money has been spent. She is now waiting for the federal Road Home Program to provide her with financial assistance. But that program has been plagued with problems, and it is likely that many of those in need will continue to wait indefinitely.
Like many New Orleans residents, Green, a 53-year-old housekeeping manager, fled to Houston during the storm. The house, which has been in the family for over thirty years, is important to Green and her siblings. All of them were surprised to learn that the house had survived the storm with little structural damage. "This is a strong house," she says with a booming voice, her brilliant white teeth shining in contrast to her ebony skin. "My mother and daddy worked too hard for this house! How could I leave it and go somewhere else?" she asks.
Christine Greene visits with a friend on the front porch of her home. (Photo: Charles E. Anderson) A tour of the neighborhood reveals many dilapidated homes, a few FEMA trailers, and then, about once per block, a home completely remodeled, usually with a new car in the driveway.
There is a temptation to try to classify this phenomenon in relation to 9th Ward geography. To think, for example, the homes by the levee are totally destroyed, but up by Claiborne, the homes are okay. But reality is that resources, not geography, determine a neighborhood's resurrection.
Elderly Are Hit Particularly Hard
Melvina Gains and her poodle Jazzy live in a small FEMA trailer instead of in the double shotgun home she owns just blocks from the once-ruptured levee. They have few neighbors and have been robbed several times. In fact, Gains was victimized twice in one week, and the second time the burglars stole the .38 caliber pistol she kept for self-defense.
Gains, a 74-year-old former housing counselor, has a lot on her mind these days. In March, she paid a housing contractor $22,000 to restore her home. Now, months later, little work has been done. "It's like I take one step forward and two steps back," she says.
Yet, there is hope. Volunteers from Plenty International have begun restoring the home in hopes that she can move back in within months.
Less than a block away, Richard Green, 81, sits on the front porch of his nondescript double shotgun house. Green worked hard for years to afford the house that he and his wife have shared for nearly forty years. Now, little is left of the dream he and his family once shared. The home has been gutted by volunteers. However, Green has not been able to restore the home.
The smell of mildew still permeates the small house. Electricity and water are functioning. However, little else has been done. The walls are mere studs; no drywall hangs to create rooms. The floors are little more than sheets of plywood. Few worldly possessions decorate the house. What the Greens had was washed away by the flood.
Like many residents, the Greens have had difficulty navigating the complex support programs created by the local, state and federal governments. They have had difficulty getting a handicap-accessible FEMA trailer or getting assistance from the Road Home Program. In fact, since they do not own a car, just getting to places where the services are offered is difficult.
Lord, help me hang in there.
Yet, despite all of their hardships, the Greens still embody the survivor's spirit that is so prevalent in the 9th Ward. Next to their front door that reads, "Lord, help me hang in there."
A few blocks away, Cephus Lewis admits that sometimes he and his wife are scared to stay in the trailer loaned to them by FEMA. Most of his neighbors have opted not to move back to the neighborhood. At night, his corner of the 9th Ward appears to be abandoned. Yet, the area is still deserving of the rough and tumble reputation it once had. After dark, gangs have been seen in the area, and occasionally gunshots ring out. Yet, Lewis and his wife are determined to return to their home. When the stress of life in the 9th seems too much, the Lewises turn to the same place many residents do: their faith. "When we get scared, we just get down on the floor and pray. No one is going to run us out of here," he says.
Across the street from the sign that reads "Welcome to Desire," one of the 9th Ward's more vacant neighborhoods, sits George Elphage's home. Elphage leans to the left as he perches on a cane in his front yard. With a strong, sweeping motion that defies his 83 years, he swings the claw of a hammer into the crack of the sidewalk and pries up a small bunch of weeds. He quickly explains that a double hip replacement in the late 1980s has left him with little ability to kneel.
"My wife would never let me allow the yard to look like this," he explains with a sheepish grin. The yard is indeed overgrown with weeds. The front door of his home stands ajar. A friend helped him to gut the house, but he has not been able to do any reconstruction.
Elphage lives in a FEMA trailer behind the house in which he and his wife raised their family. His sons have long since moved away. His wife and daughter both died in the past year. Yet, he is determined to restore the home and move his wife and daughter's remains from New Mexico back to New Orleans so that he can visit their graves regularly.
"I'm gonna make it. But, it's been real hard," Elphage says as his voice cracks and small tears roll down his face. "I just don't know what else to do."
You can find the originals at www.truthout.org
Amy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dispatches from The Other America by Charles E. Anderson
Written for TruthOut.org
Part I
The French Quarter bustles with hundreds of tanned tourists clad in Bermuda shorts, flip-flops and T-shirts bearing pithy slogans. They crowd in around tour guides who tell tall tales of the distant past - tales of Voodoo queens and illicit madams, stories of hard lives and cruel deaths. They rush to get on buses to tour the grand mansions and manicured lawns the of famed Garden District of New Orleans. They drink strong coffee and eat beignets at the Café Dumond; dine in the French Quarter's famous five-star restaurants and drink at the many bars along Bourbon Street. Greenbacks flow from worn leather wallets into the cash registers of the tourist district, seemingly faster than the mind can conceive. Farther downtown, a gas station turns a brisk business selling gasoline, snacks and cold drinks to hundreds of residents and visitors alike. Traffic is heavy on this thoroughfare that dissects one of the city's poorest neighborhoods, the 9th Ward. The sidewalks here are full with foot traffic. Residents go about their daily tasks of gutting homes and businesses, seeming to continue with their lives. Taking this in, it is almost easy for me to believe what I have been told: New Orleans is recovering well from Hurricane Katrina, and the city is on the road to recovery. But, this is New Orleans and the Crescent City is known for its facades.
It takes only two left turns off the major travel routes to discover the New Orleans I had hoped did not exist. It is the New Orleans the state and city governments do not want you to see. Houses lifted from their foundations by the floodwaters that inundated the city two years ago still sit as dilapidated piles of rubble; occasional FEMA trailers dot an otherwise barren landscape devoid of functioning businesses or inhabitable homes. The stench of mildew, mold and rotting garbage permeates the area. This view of "the other New Orleans" is haunting, like a graveyard of the living. Schools, once filled with the jubilant voices of youth, now sit silent and empty as though bearing silent witness to innocence lost; churches sit boarded and vacant, seeming to proclaim, "God doesn't live here anymore," and dozens of corner stores, bars and barber shops sit dormant, as if waiting for their hard-working owners to return and pick up where they left off August 28, 2005: the day before the storm. Yet, this empty view of the city is no more accurate than the image so carefully constructed by the city's Visitor's Bureau. The truth about New Orleans is somewhere between the cleaned-up, shiny image of the uptown districts and the nearly ghost town aura of the 9th Ward.
Somewhere in this haunted ghost town, I discovered a resilience of the human spirit I have never seen before. Signs proclaiming, "I'm coming home; I will rebuild; I am New Orleans" can be seen hanging in front windows and posted in the front yards of the iconic Louisiana shotgun-style houses. Lifelong residents struggle to gut their family homes, often without help. A new generation of New Orleanians, proud of their heritage, work long hours during the week only to work longer hours repairing their damaged homes on weekends. Children still play here and adults still congregate together on their front porches to talk about the hard times and to hope for a better future. Hundreds of caring souls from around the country work tirelessly to do what they can to help people they have never met. The story of this working-class district seems to cry out from its dilapidated buildings and vacant persona. Local residents yearn to tell their story and freely talk about the ordeal they have endured for the past two years as they suffered in silence.
Before I arrived in Louisiana, I had prepared myself to witness the destruction wrought by the hurricane, as well as the waste wrought by inept government. I was not, however, prepared to witness the abject suffering of the hurricane victims, nor was I prepared to experience the strength of faith and the resolve of character so steadfastly personified by these survivors. I had the pleasure of meeting elderly residents of the 9th Ward, many of whom have been working on their homes with no assistance; I met volunteers, motivated only by the desire to relieve human suffering, whose work has aided many, and I met a community "at the bottom of the world" in southern Louisiana where the locals are determined to rebuild their community. My eight days in Louisiana provided me with a view of the "other America" where resources are scarce; faith and will power are essential for survival, and in fact prove to be the heart of our national identity.
It's a story of incredible suffering, amazing faith and strong characters. It is the story of hurricane survivors, not hurricane victims. It is a story of a culture that is clinging to survival in the wake of powerful hurricanes and feeble governments. It is a story of the best, and the worst, of the American spirit.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Struggling for Resources: Life in the 9th Ward by Charles E. Anderson
Written for TruthOut.org
Part II
Robert Jackson's house looks like a skeleton. Yellow joists stand out like pale exposed ribs against a background of his neighbor's dingy white and grey house. "I want you to move here," the 34-year-old general contractor says with a lopsided grin. "New Orleans is a great place to live!"
Jackson is one of the many younger New Orleanians who are determined to come back home. He works long hours remodeling homes for other New Orleanians during the week, and on weekends he restores his own home.
Jackson's story is familiar, if not typical. His family did not have flood insurance, so he had to save the money to rebuild. As he worked to get his family back into their home, a task he hopes to achieve soon, they lived in a FEMA trailer too small for the family's needs. Jackson is not merely rebuilding his own home, but his parents' home as well.
A half block away, Christine Green sits on the front porch of her hot pink house, chatting with her neighbor Patrick Price. Green is almost finished restoring her home. The wiring is fixed, drywall hung and windows replaced. All that remains is to install new flooring and hang new cabinets. But Green's insurance money has been spent. She is now waiting for the federal Road Home Program to provide her with financial assistance. But that program has been plagued with problems, and it is likely that many of those in need will continue to wait indefinitely.
Like many New Orleans residents, Green, a 53-year-old housekeeping manager, fled to Houston during the storm. The house, which has been in the family for over thirty years, is important to Green and her siblings. All of them were surprised to learn that the house had survived the storm with little structural damage. "This is a strong house," she says with a booming voice, her brilliant white teeth shining in contrast to her ebony skin. "My mother and daddy worked too hard for this house! How could I leave it and go somewhere else?" she asks.
Christine Greene visits with a friend on the front porch of her home. (Photo: Charles E. Anderson) A tour of the neighborhood reveals many dilapidated homes, a few FEMA trailers, and then, about once per block, a home completely remodeled, usually with a new car in the driveway.
There is a temptation to try to classify this phenomenon in relation to 9th Ward geography. To think, for example, the homes by the levee are totally destroyed, but up by Claiborne, the homes are okay. But reality is that resources, not geography, determine a neighborhood's resurrection.
Elderly Are Hit Particularly Hard
Melvina Gains and her poodle Jazzy live in a small FEMA trailer instead of in the double shotgun home she owns just blocks from the once-ruptured levee. They have few neighbors and have been robbed several times. In fact, Gains was victimized twice in one week, and the second time the burglars stole the .38 caliber pistol she kept for self-defense.
Gains, a 74-year-old former housing counselor, has a lot on her mind these days. In March, she paid a housing contractor $22,000 to restore her home. Now, months later, little work has been done. "It's like I take one step forward and two steps back," she says.
Yet, there is hope. Volunteers from Plenty International have begun restoring the home in hopes that she can move back in within months.
Less than a block away, Richard Green, 81, sits on the front porch of his nondescript double shotgun house. Green worked hard for years to afford the house that he and his wife have shared for nearly forty years. Now, little is left of the dream he and his family once shared. The home has been gutted by volunteers. However, Green has not been able to restore the home.
The smell of mildew still permeates the small house. Electricity and water are functioning. However, little else has been done. The walls are mere studs; no drywall hangs to create rooms. The floors are little more than sheets of plywood. Few worldly possessions decorate the house. What the Greens had was washed away by the flood.
Like many residents, the Greens have had difficulty navigating the complex support programs created by the local, state and federal governments. They have had difficulty getting a handicap-accessible FEMA trailer or getting assistance from the Road Home Program. In fact, since they do not own a car, just getting to places where the services are offered is difficult.
Lord, help me hang in there.
Yet, despite all of their hardships, the Greens still embody the survivor's spirit that is so prevalent in the 9th Ward. Next to their front door that reads, "Lord, help me hang in there."
A few blocks away, Cephus Lewis admits that sometimes he and his wife are scared to stay in the trailer loaned to them by FEMA. Most of his neighbors have opted not to move back to the neighborhood. At night, his corner of the 9th Ward appears to be abandoned. Yet, the area is still deserving of the rough and tumble reputation it once had. After dark, gangs have been seen in the area, and occasionally gunshots ring out. Yet, Lewis and his wife are determined to return to their home. When the stress of life in the 9th seems too much, the Lewises turn to the same place many residents do: their faith. "When we get scared, we just get down on the floor and pray. No one is going to run us out of here," he says.
Across the street from the sign that reads "Welcome to Desire," one of the 9th Ward's more vacant neighborhoods, sits George Elphage's home. Elphage leans to the left as he perches on a cane in his front yard. With a strong, sweeping motion that defies his 83 years, he swings the claw of a hammer into the crack of the sidewalk and pries up a small bunch of weeds. He quickly explains that a double hip replacement in the late 1980s has left him with little ability to kneel.
"My wife would never let me allow the yard to look like this," he explains with a sheepish grin. The yard is indeed overgrown with weeds. The front door of his home stands ajar. A friend helped him to gut the house, but he has not been able to do any reconstruction.
Elphage lives in a FEMA trailer behind the house in which he and his wife raised their family. His sons have long since moved away. His wife and daughter both died in the past year. Yet, he is determined to restore the home and move his wife and daughter's remains from New Mexico back to New Orleans so that he can visit their graves regularly.
"I'm gonna make it. But, it's been real hard," Elphage says as his voice cracks and small tears roll down his face. "I just don't know what else to do."
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